S1200BTL chassis fan running full speed

[idata]

Hello,

I have an S1200BTL motherboard and an P4303xxsfcnna chassis. I've used Intel Deployment Assistant to update BIOS, BMC, FRU, etc. The chassis fans are still running at full speed. The BIOS only has an option to change to altitude, but the fan speed is set to auto and cannot be configured.

Any reason why the fans would be running full speed on both of my systems?

Thanks

[Edward_Z_Intel]

First I would check if the chassis fan is connected to the correct header. With you P4303 chassis, the chassis fan should go to SYS FAN 4. Then run http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=21003&ProdId=3326&lang=eng SEL Viewer to check if any error is logged.

[idata]

Fan is on SYS FAN 4. No errors in error long

When I flash BMC the fan will slow down, then speed back up after flashing is complete.

[Edward_Z_Intel]

When you do FRUSDR update, did it detect the correct chassis?

[idata]

It does show the correct chassis, but doesn't ask for the number of fans.

[Edward_Z_Intel]

Can you run the http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=20186 Sysinfo utility and post the log here?

[CMass]

Hello, I too have the same problem. In March I installed x2 S1200BTL based servers using the P4304XXSFCN chassis. I believe the BIOS set I used at the time was the '32' series. I now have another server to setup (based on the same board, chassis and E3-1240 Processor) and the fan will simply not shut up! All boxes are based on Win Svr 2008 R2/x64.

The two systems from March have an initial fan boost on power on (as expected), then quieten down to the extent that they are not audible at all (office air conditioning makes more noise). However the server I have in front of me is running the fan at a high rate for no reason (it's only 10 degrees C here in Melbourne, Australia). Rear Fan is on SYS FAN 4 as required. SEL viewer shows average informational events (ie. no 'fan' or thermal related events).

I don't quite get how the other two are as quiet as a mouse, but this one roars along. I can get the SYSINFO text file, but I suspect it would be rather lengthy to post. Thank you for all your efforts so far. - Chris

[Edward_Z_Intel]

You can zip the sysinfo logs and post as an attachment.

[CMass]

Hello and thanks for your prompt reply.

I have to say I am a long time Engineer, having put together PC's in the late 80's with 80286 processors and 640K of RAM, and as such I like to work on machines with 'the top down' so to speak. That is, I like to work on them with the side cover off so I can see what's going on inside with the various status lights. Anyway, I was trawling through the SEL logs and noticed a number of entries regarding 'Chassis Intrusion', presumably because I had the side cover off. To minimise these log entries I decided to put the cover back on and hey presto, on the next reboot the server was nice and quiet! Having said that, I don't recall having the side cover off as being an issue when I setup the last two boxes in March 2012... In fact, I would have thought that with the side cover off, it offers even better cooling and air flow... Anyway I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth - I think my problem is solved. Perhaps I can pass on some information to 'sgiffis' who is also part of this discussion:

a). I was told by an Intel Engineer back in March 2012 (regarding a different [RAID] problem) that if you flash the BIOS using the Intel Resource CD you need to run the updates twice to be sure it has taken effect. Also note that when doing the updates (BIOS, BMC, FRUSDR) the CD may report newer versions already on the system than what is contained in the update package; ignore this and select 'Update All' anyway. This is not the case when performing the update via the EFI Shell.

2). Try the server with the side cover ON...

Thanks so much and hope some of this information has been useful.

-Chris

[idata]

Thanks for the help everyone.

I tried all of those things but none resolved the issue.

We just decided to use the -R version of this board instead and both of those work fine.

Still unsure what the issue was.

[idata]

Hi,

I had the same problem with my machine.

The Intel Deployment Assistant did not download the latest available BIOS, etc and did not fix my problem.

I had to go to the Intel web site for motherboard and download the firmware from there.

After updating via EFI command prompt boot my fans finally calmed down. Now they are only noisy for the first few seconds after a power on while stuff initialises.

a few weeks ago this is what I ended up with:

Bios Version: S1200BT.86B.02.00.0037

Build date: 05/30/2012

BMC Firmware Version: 1.14.3503

SDR Version: SDR Package 1.14

ME Firmware Version: 2.2.0.36.

Regards, Bryce.

[idata]

Actually, I take it back, my machine still has this fan speed problem after all.

Firmware has not made any difference in the long run.

Recently, it is like every third or fourth restart will get the fans at the correct speeds, other times it starts roaring away and has to be reset to try again...

I'm becoming very disheartened by this motherboard, haven't had so many problems in a long time

Regards, Bryce.

[idata]

You have to forget about the Installation CD for this one.

First load the Bios update onto a USB stick

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=21765&lang=eng&OSVersion=OS%20Independent&DownloadType=Firmware Download Center

Go into BIOS at start up (F2) and load up the EFI console

From the Tech Specs..

1. Ensure BMC release 1.13 or later is pre-installed before attempting this

FRU/SDR update.

2. Copy all of the files in the FBTP_1.14.zip archive to a USB key,

hard disk drive or floppy drive. All of the files in this zip archive must reside in the same directory.

3. Boot to EFI and then run the following command to display the

contents of the baseboard FRU device:

FRUSDR /d FRU

If device is empty(which is the case for all new FAB1 baseboards) or corrupted, then

execute the following command to program the empty FRU device:

For S1200BTL:

FRUSDR /fru BTP_BMC.fru

4. Now execute the following command to bring up the main FRU/SDR load menu:

FRUSDR /cfg master.cfg

5. Select the option which is applicable to what you want to do. On a brand new baseboard I would highly recommend to run option 3 to program both the FRU and SDR. By reprogramming the FRU you will be given the option to input data from the keyboard into various chassis, board and product areas. Ensure that you select the correct chassis from the chassis selection menu otherwise your fan sensors will not be configured properly.

By following this it helps the Frusdr identify the front control panel where the temp sensor is located

Hope this helps

Cheers

[idata]

Hello Willd247

You solve my problem.

I've done :

FRUSDR /fru BTP_BMC.fru

FRUSDR /cfg master.cfg

I choose choice 3, it detect all my sensors, I reenter serial number and product type of motherboard, I did not write anything for chassi.

hard reboot

And It was finish, here was the sound of silence ;-)

Thanks a lot,

Arnaud

[idata]

Did anyone actually solve this problem?

From what I can tell, this is caused by a rather aggressive fan curve values in the stock Intel SDR configuration file. I managed to tone down the curve for the fan and now it's running at ~1500 rpm instead of the original ~2500 rpm and the noise is not a problem anymore.

All of the chassis components were correctly detected but the SDR fan curve configuration was just wrong for it.

However I would definitely not recommend editing those parameters without understanding what you're doing - it's not for the faint of heart.

[idata]

make sure that http://www.unn.edu.ng http://www.unn.edu.ng you are doing the right thing

[MWebj]

I also have a S1200BTL motherboard with a E31260L Xeon CPU, and a P4303xxsfcnna chassis . And I've experienced the same problems as described above. But I've been able to locate the problem to a dependancy of ambient air temperature.

Initially I had a an Arctic Freezer 7 PRO Rev 2(http://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-7-64-pro.html http://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/freezer-7-64-pro.html). The server is located next to a door that leads directly out which means that if I open the door then air with outdoor temperature is fed into the server. So what happened (in May last year) was that I noticed that if I opened the door when it was around 10C outside and let the door stay open for a few minutes then the chassie fan started to run at 6000rpm making the server sound like a jetplane with the amber led flashing on the front panel. I could then see in the sysinfo logs that the CPU fan was running too slow and obviously getting under some threshold limit. It seems like the CPU cooler is so efficient that when ambient temperature goes down below room-temperature then the fan provides enough cooling even if running below the fan speed threshold programmed into BIOS. So what happens is that some supervision function sees that the CPU fan speed is too low and puts in into some emergency mode which means that CPU fan runs at 1900rpm and the chassie fan at 5900rpm. And the only way to reset this mode is to completely shut down the server and unplug the power cord.

Note that the S1200BT TPS (Technical Product Specification) states that the board Operating Temperature is 0C to 55C, and in my case has the temperature never been below 0C. Not even close. I even had to put a 2kW fan in front of the server while it was running at room temperature to prohibit it from putting the fans into panic mode.

I've had a support case with Intel Server support since May last year, and I've changed the motherboard, chassie, 2 fans (Arctic + Intel) but still the same problem. And it has been really frustrating to have to deal with those guys because their main effort has all the time been to explain why they shouldn't have to do anything. The last they did before closing the case without asking me was to say that "it was expected behavior" what I had described for them.

Bottom line is: Intel product support sucks! When they are given a real problem then they are unable to handle it, to seriously analyze it and provide a solution making the product conform to the TPS.

I would recommend everyone who face the same kind of problem: Contact Intel and make them aware of the problem. If enough people show that this is a real problem then perhaps someone at a higher management level realizes that something has to be done.

And not buy an Intel server ever again.

[MWebj]

I've now got this *very* frustrating message from Intel 2nd level support engineers:

"our engineers have tested a system of similar configuration and confirmed the behaviour which you described is normal and expected. (When critical event related to low temperature occurs, fans start to run full speed. This is by design, so not an issue.)"

Note that "low temperature" is not outside the server board TPS, but Intel still consdiers this "expected behaviour". What other parameters in the spec will the board causing the board to fail with "expected behaviour"?

[PK10]

Hi,

I don't know if this is going to help to anyone, since the thread is kinda outdated, but I think I have a simple solution for the fan running at full speed. I have three servers built on S1200BTL and all three of them had the same issue - fans running at full speed all the time. I have flashed the FRU/SDR, BIOS like billion times with no effect, sometimes it would help but only to the next reboot and only with the case being opened (and all three servers are using Intel case). When I pushed the chassis intrusion "button", or just closed the case, the fan would go all silent, but only to the next reboot when it went all crazy loud again.

Today, testing it with different CPU cooling fans my collegue found out, that if you use only 3-pin CPU fan, all the fans just work as they are supposed to, reacting to opening/closing the chassis, and it doesn't go crazy after reboot.

So just use 3-pin CPU fan or, if you already have 4-pin, cutting the 4th extra pin (cable) will do the magic. After that, silence.

It makes me wonder why the motherboard does this and I spent lot of time trying to fix this, sometimes loosing my mind over the issue, but it seems this simple trick actually works.

[Isaia]

Not saying that my solution is the universal solution bus you should try the following:

If you're machine is a blade server.. where these mb go mostly then..

Make sure all fans are connected to system fan ports on mb.

Attention to right hand side there are 3 fan ports.. from left to right ..
first one is CPU fan.. do not connect anything there.
Second one. Connect system fan
Third one connect system fan

There is another system fan port on left hand side.. next to data ports connect your system fan there

Most servers have 3 system fans using these motherboards..

If you connected them correctly.. regardless of 3 or 4 pin.. and if no fan connected to CPU ports ...this is important( it seems fans connected to CPU ports get the mb crazy and spins all fans 100%)..

Everything should be ok..
Enjoy.